Ted Williams memorabilia to be auctioned in Boston

A likeness of Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams decorates a Cooperstown baseball bat in a display case at Fenway Park during an auction preview of items once owned by Williams, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Boston. Fans are able to see hundreds of items during the preview which is to last through Friday. The auction is to be held Saturday, April 28. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
— AP

A likeness of Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams decorates a Cooperstown baseball bat in a display case at Fenway Park during an auction preview of items once owned by Williams, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Boston. Fans are able to see hundreds of items during the preview which is to last through Friday. The auction is to be held Saturday, April 28. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
/ AP

A Korean War-era photograph of Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams, left, sits in a display case next to a 1952-1953 flight log book at Fenway Park during an auction preview of items once owned by Williams, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Boston. Fans are able to see hundreds of items during the preview which is to last through Friday. The auction is to be held Saturday, April 28. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)— AP

A Korean War-era photograph of Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams, left, sits in a display case next to a 1952-1953 flight log book at Fenway Park during an auction preview of items once owned by Williams, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Boston. Fans are able to see hundreds of items during the preview which is to last through Friday. The auction is to be held Saturday, April 28. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
/ AP

A 1952 U.S. Armed Forces identification card for Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams sits in a display case at Fenway Park during an auction preview of items once owned by Williams, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Boston. Fans are able to see hundreds of items during the preview which is to last through Friday. The auction is to be held Saturday, April 28. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)— AP

A 1952 U.S. Armed Forces identification card for Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams sits in a display case at Fenway Park during an auction preview of items once owned by Williams, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Boston. Fans are able to see hundreds of items during the preview which is to last through Friday. The auction is to be held Saturday, April 28. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
/ AP

Baseball fan Moriah Park, of Orwell, Vt., right, views items once owned by Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams in a display case at Fenway Park during an auction preview of items once owned by Williams, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Boston. Fans are able to see hundreds of items during the preview which is to last through Friday. The auction is to be held Saturday, April 28. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)— AP

Baseball fan Moriah Park, of Orwell, Vt., right, views items once owned by Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams in a display case at Fenway Park during an auction preview of items once owned by Williams, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Boston. Fans are able to see hundreds of items during the preview which is to last through Friday. The auction is to be held Saturday, April 28. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
/ AP

Baseball fan Sumner Friedstein, of West Newbury, Mass., left, views items once owned by Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams near a photograph of Williams from the 1942 season, right, in a display case at Fenway Park during an auction preview, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Boston. Fans are able to see hundreds of items during the preview which is to last through Friday. The auction is to be held Saturday, April 28. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)— AP

Baseball fan Sumner Friedstein, of West Newbury, Mass., left, views items once owned by Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams near a photograph of Williams from the 1942 season, right, in a display case at Fenway Park during an auction preview, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Boston. Fans are able to see hundreds of items during the preview which is to last through Friday. The auction is to be held Saturday, April 28. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
/ AP

A 1943 photograph showing Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams, left, shaking hands with New York Yankees' Babe Ruth rests in a display case at Fenway Park during an auction preview of items once owned by Williams, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Boston. Fans are able to see hundreds of items during the preview which is to last through Friday. The auction is to be held Saturday, April 28. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)— AP

A 1943 photograph showing Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams, left, shaking hands with New York Yankees' Babe Ruth rests in a display case at Fenway Park during an auction preview of items once owned by Williams, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Boston. Fans are able to see hundreds of items during the preview which is to last through Friday. The auction is to be held Saturday, April 28. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
/ AP

A baseball signed by Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams and New York Yankees' Joe DiMaggio, among others, sits in a display case at Fenway Park during an auction preview of items once owned by Williams, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Boston. Fans are able to see hundreds of items during the preview which is to last through Friday. The auction is to be held Saturday, April 28. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)— AP

A baseball signed by Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams and New York Yankees' Joe DiMaggio, among others, sits in a display case at Fenway Park during an auction preview of items once owned by Williams, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Boston. Fans are able to see hundreds of items during the preview which is to last through Friday. The auction is to be held Saturday, April 28. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
/ AP

BOSTON 
He was a skilled fisherman, a veteran of two wars and an accomplished hunter. Oh, and Ted Williams also played baseball.

Fans seeking to buy items once owned by the legendary Red Sox slugger traveled to Boston's Fenway Park on Wednesday for a preview of the first major auction of sports, military and personal memorabilia documenting Williams' life.

The preview runs through Friday at the world's oldest baseball park and home field of the only team that Williams played for during his 1939-1960 major league career. The auction will be Saturday and some of the proceeds will benefit The Jimmy Fund, a charity affiliated with Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for which the slugger helped raise money during his lifetime.

Williams, the last major league hitter to bat .400 - posting a .406 average in 1941 - enjoyed a diverse life, including as a U.S. Marine in World War II and the Korean War, a member of the fishing hall of fame and a skilled hunter. He flew 39 combat missions in Korea and took enemy fire three times, including during an encounter that forced him to land his stricken jet on its belly.

"There're not many elements of his life that did not exude the same excellence as he did on the baseball field," said David Hunt, whose company, Hunt Auctions Inc., is selling the memorabilia on behalf of Williams' daughter, Claudia Williams, of Hernando, Fla. "And that is really unique ... He's sort of like the John Wayne of baseball and sports of that time period and I think that's evidenced by all these artifacts that documents his life."

Among the nearly 800 items up for auction is a baseball in pristine condition that Babe Ruth autographed for Williams with the inscription "To my pal Ted Williams, From Babe Ruth." That unique ball is expected to go for between $100,000 and $200,000, Hunt said.

The ball, which was stolen from the family's Florida home in the 1970s and not recovered until 2005, had a special place in Ted Williams' heart, his daughter said.

"It influenced his personalizations to so many kids in the future, as he always loved the way Mr. Ruth signed the ball, `Your pal,'" Claudia Williams wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

Others items include Williams' 1949 American League MVP award valued between $150,000 and $250,000, a silver bat for winning the AL batting championship in 1957 valued between $100,000 and $200,000, as well as bats and jerseys that the slugger used, Hunt said as workers unpacked the memorabilia for display at a luxury suite at Fenway Park.

"These objects really just chronicle this man's life and, I think, show how great he was, not just as a baseball player," Hunt said.

Baseball fans who viewed the memorabilia include Malcolm Merrill, 82, whose son arranged a surprise trip from Hopkinton, N.H., to Boston to check out the collection.

Merrill said the experience brought a flood of memories from the 1950s when he used to watch the slugger play or listen to the game on the radio. It was, however, memorabilia highlighting Williams' role as a U.S. Marine at war that made Merrill emotional.